Current Affairs Preparation | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

As mentioned in Essay and GS chapters, there’s no one best way to prepare for this exam. The rest of the chapter merely reflects your learnings; pick and choose what works for you and what you are convinced about.  For instance, you read the newspaper meticulously everyday, but you never made any hand-written notes from it because you felt it was a waste of precious time. found a better alternative in making notes online (more on this later).  But if you are used to making effective hand-written notes from newspapers in limited time, don’t change it just for the sake of this book.

Now, let's see what are the five important principles required for current affairs preparation.

Principle 1: Limit Your Sources

A fundamental problem with current affairs is the overwhelming amount of reading material available. In their earlier attempts, the aspirant bought every current affairs resource on a whim, under the mistaken belief that more material would lead to more marks. Their room was once filled with CSR, Pratiyogita Darpan, EPW, Chronicle, Yojana, and nearly every magazine imaginable. They would purchase them out of excitement, place them neatly on the desk, only to never open them again due to lack of time. Eventually, they learned the hard way that chasing too much material is counterproductive. It is better to choose quality over quantity.

Current Affairs Sources:

• The Hindu (One English Daily)
• Indian Express 'Explained Section' on their website (for a comprehensive understanding of an issue)
• One daily news compilation by any reputed institute
• One monthly news compilation by any reputed institute
• All India Radio— Spotlight and discussion
• Miscellaneous (RSTV’s Big Picture, India’s World, and PRS India)
• The Internet
• EduRev Current Affairs for comprehensive daily, weekly, and monthly current affairs and Hindu analysis, offering concise summaries and in-depth insights tailored for exam preparation

Some aspirants spend an indefinite amount of time researching the ‘best website’ and the ‘best coaching material’ website for current affairs and invest less time actually reading them. Others have this perfectionist mindset that forces them to make copious notes and compilations from tons of material available in the market. Desist from this. Do your research for a day, decide on your sources, and stick to them. That will be sufficient.

Principle 2: Limit Your Time

The problem with most aspirants is not that they neglect newspapers, but they overplay their importance. Some read newspapers for almost 3-4 hours a day, leaving themselves with no time to read other subjects.

Newspapers are important, but not to the extent that you invest a disproportionate amount of time in reading them

 It is best to finish reading a day’s current affairs in under 2 hours. Spending 3-4 hours on daily current affairs is unnecessary and excessive.

Current Affairs Preparation Include:

• Newspaper Reading: 30-45 minutes daily, no note-making.
• Online Reading of Daily News Summaries: 45 minutes daily, highlighting and saving information on online.
• Reviewing Last Week’s News: catching up on All India Radio selectively and conducting internet research on specific topics during weekends.
• Referring to a Monthly News Summary: at the end of the month.

Principle 3: Focus on Issues, Not News

What’s the difference? News talks about an incident. Issues focus on ideas.To illustrate the difference, let’s consider a few examples.

• The Prime Minister talking about the $5 trillion economy is news. Merely focusing on the speech or what’s reported in the newspapers isn’t enough. You must research and understand the larger issue: Why the number 5 trillion? What sectors to focus on and what steps should the government take? How should we rapidly increase the pace of investment? What are the impediments facing the economy? How can we overcome them to realise the 5 trillion goal by 2024? etc.
• The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav is news. But the larger issue is about bilateral relation between India and Pakistan, ICJ— its structure and mandate, who are its subjects, how are the cases referred to the court, India’s role in global fora etc.,

Framework for Understanding Issues

• Reason: Why is this issue in the news? (This is usually found in news reports)
• Background Knowledge: What data, facts, or authentic reports are relevant?
• Current Status: What actions has the government taken or not taken regarding this issue?
• Both Sides of the Issue: What are the pros and cons, or opportunities and challenges?
• Opinion/Suggestions/Way Forward: What actions are necessary moving forward?

Principle 4: Learn to Make Notes Online

Toppers never made any handwritten notes for current affairs. Online notes saved a lot of time. They used to read the papers and then save them online.  But then, a follow-up question is frequently asked: Can you skip the newspaper altogether and just read these compilations? You shouldn’t, because toppers never completely skip the newspaper. Here’s why:

• Reading the newspaper gives a good summary of what’s happening, and it becomes that much easier to read the daily compilation later. Since you read it twice, you tend to retain it longer.
• Presumably, the examiner will set current affairs questions from the newspapers. So recurring issues in newspapers will tell us how weighty an issue is and what we must focus on.
• Anecdotes and examples for essay, ethics and interview can be sourced only from reading the newspaper.
• Consistent reading of an English daily subconsciously improves your vocabulary and writing.

Principle 5: Read, Revise, and Execute

• The aforementioned methods will ensure that you capture 90-95% of current affairs in a manner relevant to this exam. But, current affairs is a continuous topic that keeps piling up by the day. The best way to retain the content is through revising them on a regular basis and using them in the answers you write during daily practice or test series. Even merely mentioning the relevant current affairs issue in a sentence or two will add tremendous value to your answers.
• Besides, it’s best to revise current affairs immediately after you read the concerned static part of a paper. For example, if you are preparing for a GS-2 mock test, right after you finish the static part, revise that relevant current affair segment. This will help you subconsciously link the static topic with what’s actually happening in the real world and helps you write a good answer when you take the test.
• Even after reading and revising, you may not be able to recollect all the current affair material in the exam hall. That’s okay. No one really can. Like perfect notes, perfect answers are a myth. Your job must be to write the best answer you can in the limited time you have. Trust your instincts and have that unflinching self belief. You will outperform your own expectations.